Cast protector for arms and legs



July 4, 1967 P. c. LIMAN 3,329,144

CAST PROTECTOR FOR ARMS AND LEGS Filed Sept. 5, 1964 ZVVENTOR. p, T 1257253 6, [my M ga United States Patent C) 3,329,144 CAST PRGTECTOR FORARMS AND LEGS Peter C. Liman, New York, N.Y. (Garth Woods Apts., GarthRoad, Scarsdale, NY. 10583) Filed Sept. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 394,161 2Claims. (Cl. 12882) This invention relates to a garment forwaterproofing a cast or bandage applied to a persons arms or legs.

The access of water to a cast or bandage used to protect an arm or leg,will impair the treatment of the injured member, and can also causedeterioration of the bandage or cast. Accordingly, it is extremelyimportant to prevent the access of water to such a cast or bandage. Theexisting devices for accomplishing this result, are subject to variousproblems, and it is therefore the primary object of this invention toprovide such a garment which will appropriately solve all the problemspreviously encountered, and thereby permit a person to convenientlyprotect a cast or bandage enclosed on the leg.

Accordingly, a primary feature of this invention is to provide a garmentof the class described hereinabove, which can be conveniently worn, andwhich will etfectively prevent the access of water to the cast orbandage.

A further object of this invention is to provide a garment of this classwhich will be securely mounted on a persons body, thereby effectivelypreventing displacement.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a garment of thisclass which will have effective means for preventing the entry of waterto the interior of the garment.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a garment of thisclass which can be conveniently secured by an interlocking device withmeans preventing water from gaining access to the interlocking device.

Additional objects and advantages of this invention will become moreapparent from the following description and claims, by referring to thedrawings which are briefly described as follows:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the protective garment as applied to afoot cast.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the garment shown in FIGURE 1 in theclosed position as worn by the user.

FIGURE 2A is a cross-sectional view of the special zipper which is usedto prevent the entry of water.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a protective garment of the classdescribed herein-above, especially designed to protect bandaged orcast-inclosed arms.

FIGURE 3A is a cross-sectional view along plane 3A of FIGURE 3, showingspecial peripheral construction of the garment interior.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of another modification of the garmentespecially adapted to protect cast or bandage-inclosed arms.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the protective waterproof garment is showncomprising a bag-like enclosure made of plastic, rubber, or otherwaterproof flexible material. The garment 10 has a longitudinal andperipheral opening 11 which circumscribes the open end of the garmentthrough which the person inserts the cast 12. Opening 11 is providedwith a special zipper closure 12 which starts at 13 and terminates at14. When the zipper is closed, as seen better in FIGURE 2, it willcompletely surround the persons leg somewhere above the knee accordingto the length of the cast. To prevent displacement of the garment whileit is being worn, due to movement or the weight of the garment itself, aspecial flap 15 is provided at the upper end of the garment wherein itis attached by means of a snap attachment 16. The flap 15 has prongsdisplacement of the access 3,329,144 Patented July 4, 1967 17 which arefastened into the snap 16 in the usual man: ner. Flap 15 is mountedabout a persons belt 18 by means of its outer end 19 which is loopedabout: the belt 18, and then fastened to the main body of the flap 15 bymeans of snaps 20. Thus, it is seen that the garment can be very readilysecured to a persons belt and worn without danger of being displaced ordislodged. The belt 18 may also be integral with the protector.

In FIGURE 2, additional fastening loops 21 and 22 are seen, which aresecured about the garment by snaps 23 and 24 respectively. Loops 21 and22 further secure the garment about the leg, thereby, aiding inpreventing displacement of the garment, and in increasing thewaterproofing features.

In FIGURE 2A which shows a cross-section of the zipper 12, it is seenthat the said zipper is provided with special means for protecting theentry of Water through the zipper. The waterproofing feature includes anouter cover 25 and a co-acting inner cover 26; the said covers areoverlapping and the inner cover 26 is adapted to fit snugly into agroove 27 formed on the under side of cover 25. In addition, a fasteningridge 28 is provided on the outer side of the cover 26, for the purposeof securing the outer cover 25. Thus, when the zipper is closed, innercover 26 will naturally be forced into groove 27, and outer cover 25will fall into place beneath the semi-rigid ridge 28, thereby forming awaterproof interlock to prevent access of the water to the zipper. Toprevent slipping, the garment is serrated at the bottom.

The same principles that are used in providing a garment for legs, isalso employed by this invention to provide waterproofing members forcast-inclosed arms, for example, in FIGURE 3, we see the adaptationwhich is used in connection with a persons arm. The protective garmentfor the arm comprises an enclosure 30 adapted to receive cast-inclosedarm, a zipper closure 31, and an opening 32, for the purpose of mountingthe garment on the user. It is to be noted that the zipper 31 is of thesame construction as that shown in FIGURE 2A, in that it incorporatesthe herein-above described waterproofing features. In addition, there isan aperture 33 adapted to encompass a persons neck in the conventionalturtleneck design. A loop 34 is aflixed to the garment at one end 35,and is adapted to encircle the turtle neck portion at least once, andthen be secured to the main body of the garment at a snap fastener 36.The encircling loop 34 therefore performs the dual function ofpreventing 'of water to the interior of the garment. In addition, whenthe loop is fastened about the neck, it will cause tension, causing thesurrounding opening 32 to be pressed into a tight snug fit against thepersons body. An additional feature to prevent the garment from beingdislodged, is a belt 37 which is secured to the garment at one end, andthis encompasses a persons body and is inclosed by a buckle 38. The loop34 and the belt 37 is preferably made of the same light flexiblewaterproof material as is used in forming the garment. However, thechoice of material is variable in accordance with the particularmaterial used in forming the garment.

Inasmuch as previous garments do not adequately provide for peripheralwaterproof protection, a special fea ture for positively preventing theaccess of water to the interior of such protective garments is includedin the instant invention for use both in connection with the arm and legprotectors.

Referring to FIGURE 3A, this special construction can be more readilyunderstood. It includes an outer finger 40 which extends the fullperiphery of the aperture 3-2 (see FIGURE 3) or aperture 14 (see FIGURE2). Finger 40 has a generally flat flexible surface 41 adapted tocon-tact in a sealing manner along the persons body line 42. An innerfinger 43 similarly formed and spaced from finger 40, is provided on theinner side of the periphery forming a space 44 therebetween. To preventflexible fingers 43 and 40 from coming together, there is provided afairly rigid separator 45 lodged in the throat of space 44. Accordingly,it is then apparent that space 44 will be maintained under allconditions. This special construction more positively prevents the entryof Water into the interior of the garment because firstly, of the fiatcontact of the flexible finger 40, the space 44, and the finger 43,water which may seep past finger 40' will then be trapped in space 44,and by gravity, run along separator 45 in a general downward direction.At the lowest point of the garment, a seepage hole 46 is providedthrough the finger 40, whereby most of the water that will gain accessto space 44, will be drained therefrom. Finger 43 further prevents theseepage of water to the interior of the garment, and because of the morerigid construction of supporter 45, the water will be induced to drainalong its harder surface and out the seepage hole 46. In FIGURE 4,further modification is seen which incorporates generally all thefeatures of FIGURE 3, with the further addition of a special belt 50.The said belt is attached to an extension 51, having slots 52 throughwhich the belt extends, and is retained to the garment. As in theprevious form, a buckle 53 is provided to secure the belt snugly inplace. The waterproof feature shown in FIGURE 3A extends the full outerperiphery 54, and is also provided in the turtle neck area 55. In otherWords, all peripheral portions of the garment which comes in contactwith the persons body line is provided with the waterproofing feature ofFIGURE 3A in either the arm or leg embodiment. Similarly, all zippersused in these garments are provided with the interlocking features ofFIGURE 2A.

It is now quite apparent that this invention provides a waterproofprotective garment which can be easily mounted and worn Without dangerof dislodgment and which will positively prevent the access of Water tothe interior of the garment or to the zipper enclosures used therefor.

It is to be further understood that additional forms and embodiments ofthis invention may be designed without departing from the scope of thisinvention as defined by the claims Which follow.

I claim:

1. A garment for enclosing and sealing a body member comprising aflexible enclosure having a lower compartment with a closed end adaptedto receive the extremity of the body member and an upper portion havinga longitudinal opening with sealing means extending from the lowercompartment to an upper peripheral aperture having peripheral sealingmeans, said garment being adapted to receive the member when the portionis open longitudinally and to fit sealingly about the member at theperipheral aperture when the opening is closed and Wherein theperipheral sealing means comprises spaced flexible fingers separated byan intervening rigid member.

2. A garment as in claim 1 wherein the opening is closed by a zipperwith overlapping interlocking means for sealing the zipper from externalcommunication.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,980,486 11/1934 King et al.12883.5 2,229,575 1/1941 Kaplan 368.1 2,244,871 6/1941 Guinzburg 2592,423,354 7/1947 Van Hoesen 388.5 2,594,809 4/1952 Sanders 128-942,661,739 12/1953 Caskey 128-83.5 2,896,216 7/1959 Spewak 2-46 2,956,56110/1960 Houde 12 8-835 3,068,861 12/1962 Hoopes 12883.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 877,507 12/ 1942 France.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

J. W. HINEY, Assistant Examiner.

1. A GARMENT FOR ENCLOSING AND SEALING A BODY MEMBER COMPRISING AFLEXIBLE ENCLOSURE HAVING A LOWER COMPARTMENT WITH A CLOSED END ADAPTEDTO RECEIVE THE EXTREMITY OF THE BODY MEMBER AND AN UPPER PORTION HAVINGA LONGITUDINAL OPENING WITH SEALING MEANS EXTENDING FROM THE LOWERCOMPARTMENT TO AN UPPER PERIPHERAL APERTURE HAVING PERIPHERAL SEALINGMEANS, SAID GARMENT BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE MEMBER WHEN THE PORTIONIS OPEN LONGITUDINALLY AND TO FIT SEALINGLY ABOUT THE MEMBER AT THE